Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1887-06-17
SENATOR PLUMB
interviewed by q New York Tribune
Reporter.

Interviewed by New York Tribune
Reporter.
The junior senator from Kansas, Preston
B. Plumb, is a bustling man of affairs.
He was printers devil in Ohio, where he
was born But having cast his lot in
Kansas thirty-one years ago, he has
achieved a moderate competency, the re-
vestments. Mr.. Plumb has some ideas
about the west, its growth and progress,
and its relative importance as factor In
the commercial affairs of the country,
which he expressed in talk to Tribune
reporter.
ut is thirty one years in june" said the
senator, that landed in Leavenworth.
Kansas had then q, 900 or &c, 600 p0pula
ton. In thirty years time the growth has
been great, and she now has not less than
/, GOO, 900 people within her borders. She
will have 1000. 600 by the next census
She was the nineteenth state in the union
in the point of population by the last cen
sus. She will 60 up two pegs at least In
the next list"
Tell me, what has made this growth? p
"In the first place, it is due to the gen.
eral western tendency OF the young from
the eastern and middle states. They are
attracted by the cheaper and more fertile
lands, the greater activity In bust
ness and the greater advantages
in social matters. In the east the
youngster who is just coming to manhood
feels impatient because he has got to wait
till somebody dies or disappears before he
gets his proper place In society or In bust
ness. He wants to 60 where there Is a
show for himself right away. The fact
that he Is the son of some man who has
social and business position is not satisfac-
tory to him. He wants to be the man OF
position and business himself. He discQv-
ers that there is region with us where
land is cheap, fertile, rapidly developing
by the building of railroads and the crea-
ton of new towns, which will give him OPP
portunity not only for general profits but
also for speculative ones. The population
of Kansas has been more largely built up
from this source than from any other. In
addition, Kansas has attractions of her own.
The early struggle to make her a free
state, her central location, fine climate, the
energy and enterprise of her people, the
excellence of her institutions, and espec-
tally of her school system, constitute re-
commentators which are not lost upon
the enterprising and intelligent who are
seeking new homes"
"How much of her population is from
foreign sOurces?"
Every little. Nearly ALL might say
nine tenths of the male populations
composed of men of forty-five years OF age
or under, who came from the eastern, mid
die and western states. Ohio, Indiana,
Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and
Pennsylvania are all largely represented.
1 think we have more people who were
born in Illinois than from any other
state. Of late years there has been
considerable immigration from the
southern states of young people
who were ambitious beyond the surround
ings of their homes. A year ago last fall
found in western county OF Kansas
settlement of forty Kentucky families.
They were by large majority democrats,
as might have been expected, and they
were also, by some strange freak, by large
majority prohibitionists.
Zone peculiarly of eastern opinion has
been that Kansas and Nebraska and Dakota
are remote from markets. The people here
seem to think that these states are too far
from the seaboard to amount to much.
They hold to a mistaken notion that lands
are only valuable by reason of proximity to
the seaboard, and consequently land that is
1 500 miles away from New York mnst be
worth much less in proportion than land
which is only 800 miles away. This Is
an erroneous idea. The building of
great commercial centers like Chicago,
St. Louis, Kansas City, Topeka and Wich-
tia creates values in lands by making local
markets both for consumption and ex-
change. Kansas City, Leavenworth,
Wichita and Atchison, for instance, are
great milling markets for grain. The mil
lers of Texas come to Kansas for large
portion of their wheat, and the millers OF
Illinois, Iowa and Indiana and even OF
Ohio come to these cities for their supply.
1t is not alone the abundance of supply
that they seek. but the variety Of grain out
of which to secure the highest quality and
greatest variety of -four. 1t is only 700
miles from Central Kansas to the Gulf of
Mexico and Galveston. 1t is much short
er distance to open water the year
round on the Mississippi river at Mem
pills. The consequence is that Kansas
farmers can find an outlet for their surplus
by rail shipments of $50 to 700 miles to
water transportation. which will give
them access to all the markets Of the civil
lied world.
Supplementary to that advantage we
have markets west of Kansas, in the min
ing regions of Colorado, New Mexico and
Arizona In addition to corn, wheat, pork,
etc.. these mining markets take large
quantities of minor produce, such as fruit,
solr butt md % u
trade has also been built with
Old Mexico. If the Democratic house of
had provided by appros
priations means necessary to carry
out the Mexican treaty negotiat-
ed by General Grant during the Ar
thur administration and ratified by
the senate, there would now be cOmpar a.
lively free interchange of products between
Kansas and Mexico, which would be of
great advantage to both countries. Under
that treaty the Kansas farmers who now
feed their surplus corn to the cattle brought
from Texas, New Mexico and Colorado to
fatten them for eastern markets, would
have the added product of the cattle ranges
Of Old Mexico to rely upon, and the eastern
consumer of beef would have been that
much benefited Mexico also takes increas |
ing quantities of flour. pork, corn, ETC., and
with the diminished duties upon these pro- |
ducts provided by the treaty the consump-
ion would be greatly increased to the ad |
vantage of Kansas farmers.
why not annexation"
1--WE do not want to annex Mexico be- !
cause of the difference of race and general |
Of the people. The Mexi |
cans would not at present come up to the
nigh standard of American citizenship. 1t
s greatly more to our advantage to have |